Here's to the Future
by Crystal Rose of Pollux
Summary: [Post-WoL, based on the ending of Peach's Classic Mode]. Normality has, slowly but surely, returned as the fighters once again get ready for the new tournament to begin after picking up the pieces after their struggle against Galeem and Dharkon. But for Peach, there's still one important thing left unresolved. Mario/Peach


_Notes: this is a story idea I've been musing over for a while, ever since I saw the end of Peach's Classic Mode, with her getting married to Mario, with Robin officiating. I'm not really focusing on the wedding itself (since wedding fics are a dime a dozen), but rather the "how we got here" part. This ficlit takes place after my World of Light fic, "A Devil Put Aside for Me," and will have a few references to it. This ficlit also concludes my Smash Ultimate story arc_.

* * *

Peach hadn't been entirely sure that "normal" would have ever returned to the tournament after what Galeem and Dharkon had done to them. But weeks of banding together with their friends and allies, voicing their fears and memories with each other, had ended up working wonders for their recovery. Even Mario, who had tried to hide his own feelings for the sake of putting on a brave face for the others, had finally opened up and had the weight removed from his shoulders.

And a few days ago, the majority of the fighters had gotten together and had come to a decision—they were ready to restart the tournament that Galeem and Dharkon had interrupted. Master Hand had agreed, and, once again, preparations were underway for the opening ceremonies, which would be in just a few, short days.

In that time, the fighters would be preparing, perfecting the skills they had used so well in their struggle against the two behemoths, sparring with each other, and even with Master Hand. After previous tournaments had left the fighters wondering about his true nature and which side he was truly on, the mysterious hand had finally shown his true colors—that he cared about the fighters very deeply, and had thrown himself in the trenches alongside them once he had been freed from Galeem's control. They held a newfound respect for him, and after seeing his true strength, had yearned for chances to spar with him, as well, even if he had declined from participating in his own tournament.

And now, Peach had gotten the chance to spar with Master Hand and Crazy Hand; she had beaten Crazy Hand first, prompting him to take his leave and start causing some mayhem to amuse himself; it was now between her and Master Hand—a fight she soon got the advantage of after hip-checking him on his wrist, stunning him long enough for her to claim victory.

She let out a triumphant grin as Master Hand regained his senses.

"Well done, Princess!" he commended.

"Thank you," she said, graciously. "But I have to wonder; after seeing you fight those clones of ourselves back in that other dimension, I have to ask if you've been holding back all this time."

"Not at all," Master Hand chuckled. "Those clones may have been based on you and the others, but they lacked the heart and soul of the real fighters. Your fighting spirits are key to your strength—those empty shells couldn't hold a candle to you!"

"I guess that makes sense," Peach admitted. "Well, thank you very much for the sparring match. I think it's safe to say I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the tournament." She sighed. "It feels great to have things normal again."

"Normal as it can be, yes," Master Hand agreed. "But you still seem to have a lot on your mind."

"…Was it that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," Master Hand admitted. "Nothing to be ashamed about."

"I'm not ashamed about anything," Peach insisted. "It's just that there's a lot to think about after everything that's happened so far—and how I feel about certain things in the light of it all."

"Oh, yes."

"…Master Hand, have you ever had feelings for anyone?"

"…Ah well… No," Master Hand said, awkwardly. "And, as a result, I don't think I'm the best person to go to for relationship advice…"

"That's alright; I really just wanted someone to listen while I think things out for myself…" Peach admitted.

"I'm always ready to lend an ear… figuratively speaking, of course…"

She smiled at this.

"Well, I've been thinking a lot lately about Mario and me—our relationship. You know, I don't think either of us intended to fall in love. We were friends for the longest time, and we were content with that."

"What changed?" Master Hand queried, sincerely.

"When we were in the Beanbean Kingdom, and Mario had contracted Bean Fever from that mushroom… Luigi had gone off to find a cure, but I tried to use my healing magic in the meantime. But it didn't work—it was the first time my magic had failed me. At first, I couldn't understand why, but then I realized—it was my fears of losing him, because I did have feelings for him. I would be losing more than just a friend. And then Cackletta showed up, possessing Bowser; I went with her willingly because she would have finished Mario off when he was defenseless…" She sighed. "After that day, I vowed that I would never have my powers fail again, in case he needed me."

"And Mario?"

"I don't really know when things changed from Mario's side of things. In fact…" She blinked in realization. "I've always been the one to kiss him. When he proposed to me on the moon, that was the first time he'd ever done anything like that… But he does love me; I know he does—he wouldn't go through all that he's gone through for my sake if he didn't. He's normally just so shy, it must be so difficult for him to talk about. The night after Ridley…" She shut her eyes, suppressing a shudder. "Well, after Mipha brought him back, Mario and I actually did have a talk. More than anything, he just wants companionship—to be a part of my life. He just wants to spend the rest his life with me. And I want that, too. Of course, we're both a little shy about it, and so we decided to wait and see if we could figure out where that could take us." Her expression grew slightly more pained. "But then I realized just how short the rest of his life could be. I kept losing him again and again, even after just getting him back from Ridley—Ganon nearly killed him, Galeem _did_ kill him, Petey Piranha nearly killed him, and then Dharkon nearly killed him with his anti-light poison…" She held her arms out, staring at them, blankly. "I really thought he was going to die right there in my arms, and with me being too weak to use my healing magic—just like when I hadn't been able to help him in the Beanbean Kingdom. And even though we somehow made it through all of that, there's no way to know what's next—what could happen next."

"And…?" Master Hand prompted.

"And… I don't think we can afford to wait any longer," Peach finished. "If we wait, it could be too late. And I don't want either of us regretting that we weren't able to get married."

"And you're sure that's what you really want?"

"I know, you're wondering if I'm letting my emotions cloud my judgment and letting them rush me into this. But there's one thing I didn't tell him—that if he hadn't gotten caught up in that childish attempt to out-do Bowser on the moon… I'd have said 'yes.' I _wanted_ to say 'yes,' but I had to refuse on principle. But I know he's learned his lesson, and he truly regrets that it turned out that way. But I think… I think it just might have scared him out of proposing again."

"It sounds like you've figured things out," Master Hand observed. "The way I see it, however, there is still one more person you need to talk to."

She managed a smile again.

"Exactly."

She thanked Master Hand and darted back to the mansion, freshening up after the sparring match and changing to a red gown. She began to search for Mario after that; she didn't find him, but she did find Luigi, and the Alolan Raichu he had befriended, intently reading a cookbook on pancakes in the library.

"Hello, Luigi."

"Hi, Peach!" the younger plumber greeted. "We're trying to see which of these recipes would make the perfect pancake. Right now, we've got two votes for chocolate chip and one vote for blueberry."

"I'll cast my vote for chocolate chip, too," Peach said. "I don't suppose you know where Mario is? I expected him to be sparring in the training area, but Terry, Ken, and Ryu have been there all day and haven't seen him."

"Mario said he was going to go to the cliffside and watch the waves for a while," Luigi replied. "After everything that's happened, he's earned a rest."

"He certainly has. But do you think he'd mind if I went over there? I have something important I want to tell him."

Luigi blinked.

"…Is this about what I think it's about…?"

"…That depends on what you think it's about," Peach said. "Well, there's no point in beating around the bush. Luigi, I've been thinking a lot about what's happened lately—as we all have. But it's made me realize something, about how precious the time we have is, and how some things, especially for people like us who live risky lives, really shouldn't be put off anymore." Luigi gave a nod; he seemed to be able to tell exactly where she was going with this, but he didn't seem averse to it. Peach took that as a hopeful sign and continued. "You've been a very dear friend to me all these years, Luigi. And Mario is your big brother, and I know you want what's best for him. And that's why I wanted to ask you… Would you be okay with… Well, would it bother you if… if Mario and I…?" The last thing she wanted was to set off Luigi's anxiety—and suggesting such a drastic change to the way things were might end up doing just that. But there was no alternative, she realized. "I would like to ask Mario to propose to me again—or I might end up just proposing myself, depending on how the conversation goes. But I want to make sure that you'd be alright with that."

"Well, um… I appreciate that you wanted to check that with me," Luigi said, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "But you and Mario are grown adults—you don't need my permission for something like this."

"You're right," Peach admitted. "Let's forget I was asking for permission. Let's just say instead that I'm asking for your blessings."

Luigi managed a smile.

"You've got them… Sis."

Peach grinned and hugged him.

"Oh, Luigi, thank you!"

Luigi hugged her back, also grinning.

"You know, it really has felt like you've been part of the family all these years," he admitted. "It'll be nice to make it official."

"I agree—well, if Mario agrees, too, of course. Well, I'll see you in a bit—hopefully with good news!"

Luigi and Raichu wished her good luck as she headed to the cliffside. Mario was indeed there, just gazing out at the water, deep in thought.

"Mario?" she asked.

He looked around to meet her gaze and smiled.

"Hi, Peach," he greeted, cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Well, I just finished a practice sparring match with Master Hand and Crazy Hand. The tournament starts very soon; I thought you'd be training, too."

"Well, I was, but I kept getting distracted, so I came here to think. Link seemed to like to do that, too—he showed me those pictures of Lurelin Village on his Sheikah Slate—it definitely looked like he spent a lot of time there, trying to collect his thoughts. So I decided to come out here and try it for myself."

"It _is_ very lovely here," Peach agreed, sitting beside him. "Were you able to think about what you wanted to?"

"Oh, yeah—and then some," he replied. "You know, Peach, I've learned a lot about myself these past several weeks. Heh, weeks… It's hard to believe that it hasn't been longer."

"I know what you mean; it feels like it's been years. But what have you learned?"

"I learned just how much my family and friends really mean to me," Mario said. "I knew they were always important, but now I really know…. Once I was freed from Galeem's control, all I could think about was finding you and Luigi and Daisy again—and the others, too, of course."

"And you did find us," Peach reminded him.

"Well, Samus found you."

"But I'd lost my memories—you helped find the real me," she said. "And you did it by being your regular kind and gentle and supportive self." She paused. "You never once tried to lie to me or tweak any facts, despite the fact that I couldn't remember enough to check your story. And when I overheard you telling Samus and Sheik about what happened on the moon… Well, all I could think about was wondering why I hadn't said 'yes' to you when my heart was telling me that I wanted to spend my life with you, even if I couldn't remember anything else."

"I could never lie to you, Peach!" Mario exclaimed. "Never in a million years!"

"And I appreciate that very much," she said.

"And I was so worried that I might lose you," Mario admitted. "In a way, it felt like I had, since you couldn't remember anything. But, you know, even if you hadn't gotten your memories back, I'd have still stuck with you until you had—if that was what you would've wanted, of course…"

"Thank you—for not giving up," she said, said, sincerely.

"Of course I wouldn't give up!" Mario exclaimed. "Not after…" He trailed off as some of Peach's earlier words sunk in. "…Wait… You said that your heart was saying 'yes' to spending your life with me?"

"Mm-hmm," she said, with a nod. "…It still is. But after nearly losing you several times, too, I'm beginning to think that we can't afford to wait anymore. What do you think?"

Mario gazed out over the cliffside for a moment, as though wondering what else might emerge out from another dimension to threaten them before turning back to Peach and taking her hand.

"_Mi amore_," he said. "I give you my life—however long it may be."

"I take it—and I give you mine in return," she said. "However long it may be."

They both lapsed into silence—the only sound being that of the waves and the calls of the shorebirds as they kissed.

* * *

Luigi had found it impossible to focus on pancakes now; he paced the library as Raichu watched patiently, making a few comments here and there.

"I'm sure it is easy for Pokémon to figure these things out, as you say," Luigi replied. "But we humans have a knack for complicating everything."

"Rai rai?"

"Well, you got me—that's just the way we are…"

Raichu was about to say something else, but then turned his attention out the large, ground-floor window.

"Chu!"

"They're back!?" Luigi asked. He took a look out the window and saw Mario and Peach returning, hand in hand. Grinning, Luigi ran for the library door, shook his head halfway, and instead opened the window and leaped out to meet them as Raichu hovered behind him.

"You're engaged!?"

"We are!" Mario exclaimed.

"Well, it's about time!" Daisy exclaimed, running in from the mansion gardens after having seen Luigi jump out the window and having quickly put two and two together. She dragged all three of them into a group hug. "Awright! When's the big day?"

"In an hour," Mario said, checking his watch.

"Oh, that's nice—_che cosa_!?" Luigi exclaimed, as he realized what his brother had said.

"What!?" Daisy echoed.

"Well, maybe a few hours…" Mario admitted. "But definitely today."

"It was my idea," Peach said, drawing stunned looks from both Luigi and Daisy, who had considered her the more rational of the couple. "Where else are we going to have so many of our friends all in one place—_without_ attracting Bowser's attention?"

"Ohh…" Luigi flinched. "_Mamma mia_… We can't let Bowser find out; he'd go berserk!"

"Yeaaaah, our temporary truce with him would be history," Daisy admitted. "And we need him on our side in case Ganondorf tries anything."

"That's why Peach had the idea to just bring together our friends and ask that they keep it a secret," Mario said.

"I remember that Robin said he can perform weddings—we'll ask him to officiate," Peach added. "I'll have to send word to my father and Toadsworth later—but no one else in the kingdom can know until we're sure that Bowser is no longer a threat to us." She glanced at Mario. "It means that Mario can't officially become Prince Consort, either, until we make the wedding public…"

"But that never mattered to me anyway," Mario finished.

"A secret wedding," Daisy mused. "You know, that's actually _really_ romantic when you think about it! Well, just tell me what you need me to do!"

"Matron of Honor?" Peach asked.

"With pleasure!"

"Little Bro—Best Man?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Great—then you get to tell Mama!" Mario said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I… _No way_! _You're_ the groom, so _you_ tell the mama of the groom!"

"Bro, _please_…"

"I'll face Ganondorf, I'll face Galeem, I'll face Dharkon, I'll even face King Boo, but I will _not_ face Mama after telling her that her firstborn is getting married in one hour!" Luigi insisted. "I gotta draw the line somewhere!"

"Well, _I'm_ not telling Mama!"

"_I'll_ tell Mama while Daisy helps me get ready—might be best to start off on the right foot with my mother-in-law anyway," Peach assured them. "You two get our friends together at one of the castle arenas."

"We should split up," Luigi said. "I'll find the other brawlers, and Raichu can help me get the Pokémon."

"I'll find the gunners and the swordsmen," Mario said. "Oh, and the assists and entertainment who are our friends, too—Pauline can sing at the ceremony!"

Luigi, Peach, and Daisy all simultaneously cringed.

"…You don't want her to sing?" Mario asked, seeing their reactions.

"Bro, you can't do that to Pauline!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Do what?"

He was met with three incredulous stares.

"Hoo boy," Daisy said. "Well, at least you knew enough to propose to Peach. Let's give you credit for that. For right now, Pal, we'll just simplify it—Pauline would rather miss this wedding, and we'll explain why later."

Mario shrugged, genuinely baffled, but didn't press the issue.

* * *

For a rushed ceremony that was put together in just under an hour, things went surprisingly smoothly. The guests had been sworn to secrecy—a few of them, like Kirby and Pichu, hadn't fully understood what was going on, but were enjoying themselves anyway. And Mewtwo (wearing a green bow tie that one of the Villagers had given him) had obligingly cast a protective barrier around the castle hall to ensure that no uninvited guests would be able to enter—the plan had been to hastily switch to a group battle if someone tried to enter, but, thankfully, no one did.

Mario had attempted to say his vows in English, but in a wave of emotion, ended up saying them in Italian instead—but it didn't take knowledge of the language to understand what he was saying. Peach began her vows as prim and dainty as was expected of her, but she, too, gave in to her emotions—

"I don't know what lies ahead," she said. "There is no way of knowing. And though I always knew that I'd be facing it with you, now we face it with our hearts united—and with all of our friends with us on this day. We've been through a lot—all of us have." She glanced at the assembled guests. "We faced danger and heartbreak, and terrible uncertainty. But we made it through, and now, we have something very precious to take with us into the future, whatever it has in store—hope."

"_Si—la speranza_," Mario agreed, and finally switched back to English. "That can get us through anything."

They fell silent again as Palutena blessed the union, and Robin declared them married to light applause—not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. And as they greeted the guests individually and received their congratulations, they took comfort in the lightened hearts all around them, and the promise of a brighter future for all of them.


End file.
